May 31, 2014

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Dusek Deals Hurricanes Loss

By David Furones

Special to CollegeBaseballInsider.com

@DavidFurones90

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Something had to give in a battle of pitchers with spotless records in the winners’ bracket of the Coral Gables Regional.

With Chris Diaz 9-0 for No. 11 Miami and Dylan Dusek 6-0 for Texas Tech, it was Diaz that was dealt his first loss of the season while Dusek dominated a struggling Hurricanes lineup to lead the Red Raiders to a 3-0 victory on Saturday night at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field

Second-seeded Texas Tech remains perfect at 2-0 in the Regional while four-time national champion Miami, owners of the nation’s longest streak of 42 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, will need to beat fourth-seeded Bethune-Cookman in an elimination game at 2 p.m. on Sunday to get a rematch with Texas Tech at 7.

Dusek, the crafty freshman left-hander who likes to work backwards in counts, went eight shutout innings, allowing just four hits and a walk while striking out three on an economical 104 pitches.

“It was awesome to be at their park and just shut them down,” Dusek said. “My main goal for tonight – or always – is to always get ahead of the batters, and I did very well with that tonight.”

Added Texas Tech coach Tim Tadlock: “Wherever you’re going to play, he’s going to give you a chance to win – in a sandlot or here.”

Miami, which needed a walk-off wild pitch to squeak by Bethune-Cookman on Friday, has scored only one run in the first 18 innings of the Regional it’s hosting.

“[The offense is] a concern. You have to score more runs,” Miami coach Jim Morris said. “You can’t expect to shut people out. One run in two games isn’t going to win too many games.”

The Hurricanes got two runners on in the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate with one out, but Corey Taylor got pinch-hitter Ricky Eusebio to fly out to left and then retired Dale Carey on a fly out to right to seal it.

“I thought we started pressing late in the game,” Morris said. “We just didn’t put up back-to-back hits.”

Diaz lasted 7.1 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and three walks. He struck out six.

“Obviously it wasn’t good enough to win. I tried my best and it felt short,” Diaz said. “I thought I was better as the game went on. The first two innings I was struggling a little bit, but I came back and I battled.”

Texas Tech scored a pair of runs in the second off Diaz. Tim Proudfoot drove in a run on a sharp single through the left side, and Devon Conley scored from third on a wild pitch, Diaz’s second of the inning. Ironically, Diaz struck out the side for his three outs in his roughest frame.

The two early runs proved to be enough with the way Dusek pitched. Dusek’s composure on the mound was magnificent to stay the course against the junior Diaz, who, the Red Raiders knew would make things difficult for them with his résumé.

“At this time of year, you’re going to face a guy that hasn’t lost, but it’s a baseball game,” Tadlock said. “It’s today, and I don’t think you get to carry those wins into today.”

The Red Raiders added an insurance run in the eighth when Eric Gutierrez hit a flare off the end of the bat that dropped into shallow left for an RBI single.

An interesting play developed in the Hurricanes half of the fourth. The Red Raiders ran off the field after Jacob Heyward struck out swinging on a pitch where catcher Hunter Redman’s mitt was dislodged from his hand and rolled about five feet to the first-base side.

The umpires congregated and reversed the ruling to catcher’s interference. It loaded the bases with two outs for Dale Carey, the Hurricanes’ leadoff man. But he harmlessly popped out to third for the third out.

“I just remember I was trying to do too much,” Carey said. “I got away from my approach that I was going with all year and just trying to get something for my team and I chased a pitch up and in. I know better than to do that.”

Carey left seven men on base, ending three different innings at the plate.

Texas Tech is now in the driver’s seat of the Coral Gables Regional, and will face the winner of Miami and Bethune-Cookman at 7 p.m. on Sunday.

“It’s great,” Proudfoot said. “It’s hard to come up through the losers’ bracket. It can be done, but it takes a lot more pitching, so this is great that we’re in a good position right now going to the championship.”

Game Notes

•       Saturday night’s matchup pinned two Kirby Hocutt programs. Hocutt, the current athletic director at Texas Tech, held the same position for Miami from 2008-2011.

•       Texas Tech’s Tyler Neslony had his 19-game hit streak snapped with an 0-for-2 night. He walked once and was sacrificed in the eighth inning to put two runners into scoring position with nobody out.

•       Jim Morris announced that he’ll send senior left-hander Bryan Radziewski out to the mound against Bethune-Cookman.